The Chosen: stories of struggle for democracy in Chile

By Alejandro Godoy Gabarró

The Chosen is a collection of three works about what happens in a country when democracy is taken away and what is necessary to restore humanity.

In The Chosen, a humble Mapuche native is called upon to free his country of the control of subterranean forces and the darkness that has fallen.

The Southern Cross tells the story of a young teacher in Chile who decides to spread the truth of what is happening under a military dictatorship.The tragedy of a country that once enjoyed peace unfolds in this man's life.

The Scarecrow takes place in the Chilean countryside at the home of an aging grandfather who shares with his grandson his history as a member of the police force during a dictatorship. What makes some people choose to follow orders of cruelty and murder while others do not is explored in their conversations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9798369404133

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 by Alejandro Godoy Gabarró.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 07/27/2023

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

854907

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Author’s Preface

The Chosen

The Southern Cross

The Scarecrow

This book is respectfully dedicated to those

who fought for democracy in Chile.

The struggle to overcome suffering in the world

unfolds in both darkness and light.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank Thérèse Marie, who for over 45 years, has been my compañera, my love, my support.

My daughters, Luisa and Sarah May, born in love and hope, have brought me strength, pride, and happiness.

My grandsons, Paolo, Leonardo Gabriel and Fénix Sol are lights in my life and remind me that the pursuit of justice must continue for those who come after us.

AUTHOR’S PREFACE

The destruction of democracy and the establishment of state terrorism against the Chilean nation on September 11, 1973 was an event that along with millions of Chileans, I experienced firsthand. The horror of people disappearing and later assassinated by the secret police and the indifference of the entire legal system that became an accomplice to the Chilean dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet were some of the realities that crushed our self-image as a civilized nation. I joined the thousands of people who escaped the relentless persecution that was occurring throughout the country.

My years in exile are full of sad memories as I encountered survivors of the concentration camps and other centers of torture in Chile that plagued the country. This also included two family members who were imprisoned and tortured at the infamous Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile.

Scars remain, both physical and psychological, due to the many forms of torture such as electric shock and rape by soldiers that were inflicted on innocent people. Unborn babies were lost due to torture. Left behind were the sons and daughters whose parents were murdered. Left behind were the parents who lost sons, daughters, and grandchildren. The tragedies extended to so many who escaped and who did their best to survive in foreign countries. Hunger, homelessness, despair, sickness were the reality for over 200, 000 Chileans who searched for freedom. I was just one of them.

In the midst of the reign of terror that spread throughout Latin America in those years something unique was born from the consciousness of people around the world: the determination to oppose murder as a tool to reap financial gain for the wealthy class.

The movements of solidarity sprouted up in the United States, Europe, Latin America and thousands of people were able to find respite from the years of bitterness and terror as they found safe harbor in a country that welcomed them.

New political ideas and perspectives began to emerge as the exiles assimilated into the waves of democracy in the new countries in which they found their new home.

I owe my freedom and my life to Americans and Europeans who helped me arrive to a place of safety when in Chile the world of decency and hope had stepped aside in an avalanche of savagery and death.

For some of us, it has taken many years to process the personal impact of the events we experienced. Individuals can move to create something that reflects the goodness in our humanity when they find a framework to try to understand that which seems incomprehensible.

During this time of infamy in Chile, there were many people who denounced the horror through artistic expression such as music and other art forms that depicted atrocities but also the hope for change. Opposition to the horror was expressed in many ways by those who found their voice. There were so many who did not remain silent.

I wrote these short stories as a modest legacy to those who refused to surrender ideals of freedom, dignity, democracy. My writings are rooted in the belief that we must find hope through the darkest of times.

Alejandro Godoy Gabarró

Croton-on-Hudson, New York

June 2023

THE CHOSEN

Alejandro Godoy Gabarró

Chile is a long, narrow country in South America that meanders along the Pacific coastline. It is a country that is walled by mountains. In the East, the majestic mountains of the Andes have stood immovable for millennia and in the West lie the lower coastal mountains and the ocean beyond. In these times, the middle of the country is mostly moribund in the long valleys that are divided by rivers running furiously from east to west. But a carpet of fertile land still remains in the corridor which gives plentiful harvests of wheat and fruit, and hidden in the depth of its heart, minerals.

It is in this land where a terrible secret is held. From time to time human sacrifices are demanded and thus, in exchange, an unspoken evil promises a fragile balance of life will continue but only for those who will walk with eyes downcast. The inhabitants do not speak about this mysterious barbaric ritual as there exists a hermetic solidified pact: the blood of a few for the life of the many.

Ceremonies and rituals are carried out in an attempt to assuage the demand for death. The Chileans build churches to a god who died with the first sacrifices and bring children to life with the hope that they will be spared from the madness of the bloodthirsty.

Some say that it is a cursed land and that is why the people spend their lives sprinkling holy water around their homes seeking to create a barrier from evil. They seek refuge by carrying with them silver crucifixes and scapulars. They make the sign of the cross over their foreheads to obtain protection from a malevolence that is never satisfied with what it is given.

The land is loved by the Chileans because they also know they have paid dearly for it. Though poets and singers refer to her in beautiful metaphors that awaken nostalgia and pride, they are merely a veil that hide the horror and shame that engulf the country.

An unquenchable and diabolical desire of the greedy swallows people. Those who survive are grateful. But their survival is possible because the blood of others has been shed. The sacrifice is a tragedy. Silence and fear are the required faith.

Three groups populate the country: the Mapuches, the Dwellers and the Rats. The first inhabitants were the Mapuches, the indigenous ones. They ran free through the valleys and the rivers were docile to them. There was no demand for blood as there was a bond between the natives and the land which they revered. Once a year they would gather and dance, play the drum known as kultrun and compete among one another for strength.

The Mapuches played the hypnotic music of their long cane flutes called trutrucas in order to awaken the earth while caressing her with their slow dancing feet, giving thanks for the bounties she had offered that year. The women, cloaked in their black shawls and adorned with silver jewelry, followed the men in their black and red ponchos woven in geometrical designs.

These celebrations lasted for days as they awaited the arrival of the Condor. The trutrucas sounded in unison as soon as the Mapuches noticed the black dot against the clear blue sky, the approaching Condor.

The presence of this powerful and exalted bird was the climax of the annual ritual. Men, women, and children would enter the moving circle of dancers while the Lonco, the name given to their Chieftain, and the Machi, the woman of medicine and magic, remained at the center.

The Condor flew in circles above them and slowly descended. It then took its place in the center. The Mapuches were reverential and bowed in respect.

Walking towards the Chieftain, the Condor always saw pride, determination, courage, and respect for the elderly and tenderness for the young. As the Condor looked around, the community stood in rapt attention. The women removed beautiful head coverings and revealed their gleaming black hair. The revered bird was as pleased with the intensity of their black hair as it was of its own feathers. The men extended their arms showing strong muscles, visible tendons and veins, all result of hard work.

As a display of the Condor’s pleasure with the Mapuches, it accepted the offering, a mature lamb. The acceptance was signaled by the spreading of its large wings while moving towards the offering. Silently and in a graceful but powerful movement, the Condor would take flight holding firmly onto the annual offering. The Condor would fly for hours until it reached the high Aconcagua Mountain where it delivered the offering to its kind.

There were no human sacrifices back then and the Mapuches knew how to laugh. The lakes and tranquil rivers were places of passion among